Let me begin by stating the fact that this is me trying to be as unbiased as I can, as I am a Titans fan writing this review on a Vancouver Titans fansite… With this out of the way…

The seventh in our series of expansion branding reviews are the magnificent snowmen from the Pacific Northwest – The Vancouver Titans. A team shrouded in mystery and speculation, trying to take on the challenge of repackaging and redesigning a beloved team that probably, to this day has the strongest and most recognizable brand not just in Korea, but in the global scene of Overwatch: team RunAway.

Vancouver Titans

Can the talented bunch recreate the magic on the big stage without Runner or Flowervin on board?

The Good – Great venue – ✓, improved colours – ✓, awesome brand video – ✓, awesome roster video – ✓, access to the players – ✓, merchandise – ✓, Flowervin – ✓, free food – ✓. When Blizzard had announced the Overwatch League, they had envisioned an amalgamation of the world of e-sport with that of the major sports in North America. I can honestly say that Vancouver’s first step in OWL was the best attempt at this feat so far. The reveal of the team: organization, venue, quality of production were all top notch and exceeded anything we saw compared to other reveals. Of course, sharing an owner with an established NHL team, who also owns the arena helps a lot but the execution was no less than exemplar.

The Bad – While exposure is almost always a good thing, and the gesture was a positive one, I’m not sure if bringing out the roster in front of hockey fans and introducing them on the ice was the right move. Especially, when the real OW fans were waiting somewhere else in the arena. I feel like the roars and cheers from about 150 people in the Sportsbar during the reveal were way louder and warmer than those produced by 20,000 on the rink. A truly wonderful moment that the players have sadly missed while they were awkwardly waving to the impartial crowd.

The Mediocre – While it is a great improvement over the earlier leak, something still feels a bit off with the logo and title. They are kind of eclectic in a way that there’s not much uniformity in the tone, especially with the name Titans and the Yeti over it. Perhaps it’s the generic name that has no local flavour, perhaps the skins that still appear kind of rough, or maybe it is just because it’s really, really hard to forget and let go of those pink sweaters and memories.